Heart of a Soldier
by Reach4thestars19
Summary: An AU story written for a challenge, putting Padme into a different profession, not as a Queen or Senator. She is a 14 year old soldier during the Battle of Naboo. The galaxy will forever be changed by this strong, young woman.
1. Before Dawn

**Chapter 1**

"Padmé…Padmé wake up."

The young girl rolled over slightly, hearing the urgent whisper, which was almost a hiss in nature. She blinked a few times, unaware of her surrounding for a moment. Then it came back to her. They were in one of the tents were all of those in Theed had been brought, under constant guard of the Federation droids. They were told to shoot any beings that resisted and the fourteen year old had already seen many fall due to the command.

As her eyes got accustomed to the dark, her brown eyes met the eyes of one of her friends, Gregar Typho. The boy, who was seven years older, was more like a big brother. At first, he had disliked the young girl who followed him around, but grew to like her enough to allow her to continue tagging along with him.

"Gregar?" she asked. What was he doing here? He could be shot if he was found!

"Shh," he put a finger to his lips then leaned closer, lips close to her ear. "You need to dress in dark clothing, put on your boots and be silent."

Padmé paused before nodding. Gregar turned around to allow the girl relative privacy to change. It took Padmé just a few minutes to change into a navy blue tunic and black pants that were tucked into her nearly knee high boots. Her hair was quickly pulled back so it would not fall over her shoulders and get into her eyes.

She went to Gregar and touched his arm, then glanced over at her family. Her older sister Sola was still asleep, as were her parents, which was a relief. While she did not know what Gregar wanted, she was sure her parents would tell her she couldn't go. They were horrified when Padmé had mentioned that she wanted to become a handmaiden or soldier. They felt it was too dangerous and thought she should think about becoming something else like a teacher. Gregar was the only one who understood her want to protect the planet she loved as well as the people. He had taught her how to fight and how to shoot a blaster in secret.

Gregar led the dark haired girl outside of the tent and put his finger to his lips again and she did the same to show that she understood. They had to be silent. He would tell her what was happening. At least, she hoped he would. Sometimes she did not understand him, but he usually had a reason.

They snuck from one shadow to the next and Padmé was now glad for the tents. It would be easier to hide. There were many who did not have such places to cover their heads, but Gregar kept her away from the places were those people had met. He did not want anyone to see them.

As they got to the side of one of the buildings, Gregar froze and then pressed Padmé against the wall. The young girl wanted to protest, feeling like he was crushing her, but then she heard the sound of crunching and a little whirr that one could hear coming from a Federation droid. The lookouts were wandering, making sure no one tried again. She could one talking to another somewhere else in the area and Padmé held her breath, as if that would help them stay hidden.

After the droids had moved on, Gregar waited another moment before pulling back from her. "Sorry," he mouthed and she smiled in response to show it was alright.

He took her arm again and led her to a path that was barely visible, especially with so little moonlight. The sun would be rising soon, so it was the predawn darkness that offered them protection from sight. Padmé paused, glancing once more over her shoulder. If they were not back soon, her parents would be frantic with worry and Sola would feel horrible. Her older sister always tried to protect her and take care of her.

Her hesitation was only for a moment because Gregar tugged her arm and she followed after him.

"Gregar, where are we going?" she finally asked.

"Remember how you said you wanted to protect Naboo? The other day you said you wanted to fight the Federation."

Padmé nodded, reddening slightly. It had been unwise to say such a thing, but she had told Gregar that when she had seen him the other day. Her parents had overheard that and immediately told her to be quiet. They wanted Naboo free and while Padmé was sure they would consider fighting, they wouldn't want their daughters involved.

"Well, here is your chance."

"What?" Padmé asked, wondering if she had heard him right.

Gregar stopped and looked at her. "Queen Eirtaé has returned, in secret. The Jedi with her have convinced the Gungans to help and a resistance is being created. I think you should be a part of it."

Padmé just stared at him. She had seen Queen Eirtaé before, when she had been elected. When she was younger, her parents had suggested that she study and take the royal exams. She liked helping other people, but after seeing how the former King ran the planet, she did not think she would want to work with others like that. She was interviewed as a handmaiden, but her dark hair and brown eyes did not match the Queen's, though Padmé did not understand why that was important. However, she knew she might get her chance to help her planet another way. Besides, she had taken the test two years ago and though she knew she could have been a good Princess of Theed, or even Queen, apparently Fate had a different plan for her.

"So we are going to help?" she asked.

Gregar nodded. "We are meeting with the Queen, those with her and other leaders of the resistance. My Uncle got word to me and I know you will be great with this."

"Why?" Padmé asked. She wasn't anything special. She was just a girl who had been born in the country and moved to Theed with her family.

"Because you have the heart of a solider."


	2. A Rendezvous with Allies

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I forgot to mention before that I do not own Star Wars or the characters. They belong to George Lucas and Lucasfilms.**

There was a speeder nearby where three others were waiting. One of them Padmé recognized as Gregar's uncle.

"We almost had to leave without you," Panaka, who was Gregar's uncle and the Queen's head of security. He then frowned, seeing Padmé. "Little girl, this is not the place for you."

"I asked her to come," Gregar quickly spoke up before Padmé could reply. "I have given her some training. Besides, as you just pointed out, she is a girl. No one would expect her to be a threat."

Padmé did not know whether to take that comment as a compliment or as an insult. She frowned slightly, but did not say anything. Instead, she met Panaka's gaze, not looking away from his eyes that were studying her intently, as if trying to figure out if the girl in front of him was truly capable.

"Alright, but you are responsible for her," Panaka remarked and Padmé smiled. Then she paused, thinking about the Queen and her handmaidens. They were about her age, and she wondered why Panaka had seemed so concerned about her. Just because she was not Queen or a handmaiden did not mean that she was unable to protect herself or defend her homeplanet.

Gregar nodded and helped her into the speeder, getting in after her. The speeder also had weapons in it, which would be necessary. It did cause Padmé to worry slightly. She did not have any experience with some of those. In fact, she had only used a small blaster.

As if sensing Padmé's worry, Gregar smiled slightly. "Do not worry. I have the one you have used before," he told her over the roar of the speeder's engines. They were not as loud as many other speeders, so the young girl was almost certain that they were made to travel quietly.

The rest of the trip was silent. The sun started to rise and Padmé knew that, in minutes, her parents and Sola would find she was missing. She wondered if she should have left them a note, but it was too late to do anything about it now. She hoped they would all be okay during what was going to occur next.

Soon they were arriving in a meadow where a small group was already forming. Among the group she saw a group of girls who all looked similar to one another who had to be handmaidens of the Queen. The other girl was wearing make up specifically for the Queen of Naboo. That had to be Queen Eirtaé. Among some of the others, there was a trio that seemed to stand out, but for a different reason. One was an older gentleman and next to him was a younger man. They both wore clothing that Padmé immediately recognized as clothes of a Jedi. The younger man also had a small braid, which showed he was still training to become a Jedi.

With them was a little boy. He was not dressed as a Jedi, nor was he dressed in clothing that Padmé had seen on Naboo. He couldn't be older than ten, if he was even that old. Panaka had been worried about her, yet he didn't seem concerned about the boy. Possibly because he was with the Jedi. She wondered if they had gotten the same speech that Gregar had received from his uncle.

The little boy glanced over at her and offered her a smile, which she returned, though hers was a smaller smile. She was too worried to smile any more than that. If this succeeded, Naboo would be free. If she failed though, she, along with the others there, could be dead. Yet, she knew she could not just stand by and watch the battle. She loved her home and did not want to see anymore of it destroyed by the Trade Federation.

Panaka got out of the speeder almost immediately, walking over to one of the young girls. Padmé frowned for a moment, watching them. Why wouldn't Panaka go to the Queen to discuss things? The realization hit Padmé like a wave of the ocean would break upon the beach. The girl who looked just like a handmaiden _was _the Queen. It had been hard to tell because they all looked similar.

Gregar got out of the speeder and then offered his hand to Padmé to help her out of the speeder. She was a bit surprised by how he seemed to be acting like a gentleman. Yet, she wondered if he was being more careful with her because she was now under his care. "Thank you," she nodded to him as she climbed out of the speeder, jumping to last few inches to the ground.

"Before I forget," he handed Padmé a small blaster. It looked just like the one that Gregar had given her during practice. She paused, seeing a small mark on it. It was just like a mark that had been on that blaster, which meant this could only be the blaster she had used in the past. "I felt you would feel more comfortable with it," Gregar explained. "Don't lose it, and remember our lessons."

Padmé nodded in response, sliding it so it was between her belt and tunic. She wished for a holster, but this would have to do for now. She glanced at it, making sure she could grab it quickly. She would probably carry it in her hand, but she did remember what Gregar had taught her. Neither of them had thought there would ever be the need to fight such a battle, yet she had asked him about such a situation and he taught her what he felt she needed to know.

She then looked over all of the people there. That was when she noticed they were not all humans. There were also some Gungans there. She was a bit surprised to see them because the humans of Naboo and the Gungans had only an uneasy peace. They had never worked together, at least to her knowledge. She was glad to have them, even though she did not know the plan. After all, the more beings helping them, the better off they would all be.

All of a sudden she felt herself tripping forward and she stumbled, barely managing to stop herself from falling. Padmé glanced over her shoulder to see who had run into her.

"Ex-squeeze me," an embarrassed Gungan apologized to her. As he shook his head, his long ears flopped. The dark haired girl found the being somewhat comical, even if he was clumsy.

"It is quite alright." She paused before holding out her hand. "I'm Padmé."

The Gungan took her hand in his, shaking her hand in such a way that her entire arm moved. His skin was smooth and cooler than hers, and his hand dwarfed hers. "Mesa Jar Jar Binks."

"It is nice to meet you, Jar Jar," she replied as he released her hand from the overzealous shake.

"Yousa soldier?" Jar Jar asked her, seeing the blaster at her side.

"I guess I am, for now," Padmé answered. She did not know if she was really a soldier. She had only shot at stationary targets and had learned a little bit about hand to hand combat. Yet, she knew that most of the fight would be against droids, so she would be unable to use hand to hand combat against them. While she was decent with a blaster, she had never had targets shoot back at her. "Are you fighting with us?"

Jar Jar nodded, though he still looked nervous. "But mesa getten berry skeered," he admitted.

Padmé could understand being scared. Yet, she knew that she could not let fear rule her life. "You would be foolish not to be a bit scared," she responded. "We can win though." Her voice was certain and she saw Jar Jar relax slightly.

The Gungan opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by another Gungan. "Binks!" Both Padmé and Jar Jar turned to see an older Gungan on a kaadu. He motioned for Jar Jar to join him and the younger Gungan gave Padmé an apologetic smile before leaving.

Brushing off her tunic, Padmé scanned the group and saw that the Queen was in deep discussion with the Jedi, Panaka and a few of the others that had been with them. Gregar was next to his uncle and Padmé could see the family resemblance, not just in how they looked, but also how they stood and carried themselves.

The Jedi were standing off to the side and the older Jedi spoke up, saying a few words. The young Queen nodded at this, looking thoughtful before speaking, first to the Jedi, and then to the others.

Those not involved in the discussion were looking over weapons as well as scanning the area. Everyone was on apprehensive and ill at ease. Even Padmé, who usually could keep calm, felt her nerves tingling from the tension in the air.

The sensation of being watched pulled her out of her thoughts. She glanced to the left, where the sensation seemed to be coming from. Her eyes fell on the small boy. His blue eyes met hers and he looked at her in a way that made her feel as if she was being studied.

She felt she should introduce herself and learn who this boy was, as well as why he was here. Before she could though, he spoke, an innocent, questioning look on his face.

"Are you an angel?"


	3. Receiving Assignments

**Chapter 3**

"What?" Padmé asked, surprised by this question. Had to truly heard him correctly?

"Are you an angel?" the boy asked again. Padmé studied him and saw that he was not teasing or making any jokes. He meant it with serious innocence.

"No," she answered with a shake of her hair, feeling her pinned back hair brush against the back of her neck slightly. She offered the boy a small smile though, feeling touched by the kind word. "I am Padmé," she introduced herself, holding out her hand to shake his.

"I'm Anakin Skywalker," he replied, giving her hand a firm shake. She noticed his hands were very rough, especially for one his age. After all, he could not be older than ten, if that. He looked young. He gave a shiver and Padmé glanced at him a bit closer. His clothing was thin and coarse, very unlike what most saw here.

"You are alright?" she asked.

"It is cold," he admitted. Padme had not noticed the chill, but noticed it now. The sun had not completely warmed the land.

"Soon it will be warmer," she assured him. "Where are you from?"

"From Tatooine," he replied and then he smiled, causing Padmé to smile as well. "I won my freedom because I won a Podrace. I am the only human who can pilot one."

Padmé lifted an eyebrow slightly in question. She did not know a lot about podracing, but she knew how dangerous they could be. This boy was a mere child. How could he pilot one? No humans were ever known to be able to do so.

"It is true. I have the Force, but…" he sighed, glancing over the two Jedi. As if sensing this, the elder one looked over and gave Anakin a small nod, \as if in approval that he was not getting underfoot or too far away.

"But what?" Padmé asked, quite curious.

"They say I am too old to train. But I will have to wait to know what happens next. Though soon I am going to go back and free my mother and all the other slaves."

Padmé had caught the fact that he had mentioned winning his freedom, yet, to hear the word, it angered her a bit. She felt the practice of owning another being one of the most terrible things in the universe. They did not have slaves on Naboo, nor any planets in the Federation. "Your mother?" she asked.

"We couldn't free her too, but I promised her I will go back, and I will," he told her, so sure of himself that his voice did not falter and, though Padmé had just met him, she was sure that he was capable of it.

"I am sure you will," she told him with a kind smile.

He smiled back then glanced over as the older Jedi called his name. "Will I see you again?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

"I am sure our paths will cross again," Padmé nodded.

He seemed happy with his answer and went over to the Jedi, who looked quite at peace, even though they were all about to enter battle.

"Padmé," Gregar was beside her quickly and he seemed pleased. "I am going to be joining the resistance here when we retake the palace."

"I am happy for you," she managed a small smile. She could not help but wonder what she would do. There was no way they would allow her to help with that.

"I didn't forget to get a job for you too," he replied. He handed her a parchment. "The battle is starting soon. There are those still in the camps. Two in particular who are needed. They are the Queen's handmaidens and they had to stay. Yet, they are helping plan this. You are the only one who can safely get around camp."

Padmé did not know how to take this. It did not seem like much of a job. She wanted to do more. She did not want to kill anyone, but she did not want to continue sitting by as the others went on to free Naboo.

"They are going to be the ones that make sure it is capable to even approach the palace." He also handed her a comlink. "Press it twice to let us know the plan is in action, or three times to say it is not," he instructed her.

"What is the parchment for? Why not use a datapad?"

"Because droids will be able to read those much easier than these and these would be missed more easily and are also easier to destroy if needed. They are from the Queen to the two handmaidens so that they will know you are who you claim to be."

"Zaré and Calré are brave and smart. If there is a way, they will find it," an accented voice spoke and both Padmé and Gregar turned. For a moment, Padmé was confused. Why was the handmaiden speaking like this and the Queen was hanging back? Just as quickly as that thought came to her, the answer became clear. The Queen was dressed as handmaiden for protection. Padmé glanced at the decoy Queen and thought about how brave that young woman had to be.

Padmé and Gregar both bowed to her before straightening, looking back at the young disguised Queen.

"Your Highness," Padmé murmured, to show respect.

"Please, let us not worry ourselves with protocol until Naboo is free once more," Eirtaé insisted. Then her eyes went to Padmé, blue eyes meeting brown. "This is dangerous," she told the young girl. "It is necessary though. They will signal those inside the palace and will most likely take you in through a way only a handful know of. Are you prepared to fight?"

"Yes," Padmé, not pulling her eyes away. She thought that perhaps if she had met Eirtaé under other circumstances, perhaps they would have gotten along and become friends. It was not easy for one to become a friend with a Queen though and Eirtaé, who hailed from a mountain village, would most likely have gone back.

"Then I wish you only the best," Eirtaé told her. "I will not forget all have you have done today, Padmé Naberrie."

Padmé gave a nod of thanks, and then glanced at Gregar when he touched her shoulder. "You will have to return the way we came. You and the handmaidens will help take care of some of the droids so that we can reach the Viceroy before he escapes."

"Our home will be free by dinner time," she tried to joke to assure both of them. Then, she took off for the path she had come up before, running as fast as she could. She kept her eyes open for droids though. Getting out of the camp was hard, but getting in would be even more difficult because there were no shadows left to offer protection.

She knew this, but did not slow her pace. She had trained with Gregar, so she was able to control her breathing better, allowing her to run most of the way. Her leg cramped up slightly but she pushed that thought back.

As she got closer, she hung back as best she could, trying to keep herself from being seen to plan the best way inside the camp. Then, she saw a flash of color. It reminded her of a flame with red, orange and yellow running together. Curious, she looked at it a bit closer. It was just showing slightly. Then a head popped around the corner. Blonde hair was pulled back and Padmé saw the girl looked confused. The handmaidens must have known that someone would return with news, though they probably did not think it would be such a young girl.

The girl got over her shock quickly and held up one finger before pulling back. Padmé pulled back too and saw a battalion of droids go by, only feet from where the girl was hidden. She hoped that the girl was safe.

Once they had past, the girl held up a finger to tell Padmé to keep quiet before waving her over.

Padmé barely had time to take a breath before she started to run.


	4. Putting the Plan Into Action

**Chapter 4**

Padmé ran quickly to where the other girl was waiting and was nearly yanked off her feet as the blonde girl pulled her behind the tent, both of them low. They stayed like this for a while before the blonde girl slowly relaxed.

"We will have to hurry, but who are you?" the blonde asked, getting right to business at hand. However, Padmé was certain that at such a time it was best to get right to the point.

"My name is Padmé Naberrie. I am a friend of Gregar Typho's. Are you Zaré or Calré?" Padmé replied.

"Zaré," she repeated, sizing up Padmé once more. Her expression did not change but she gave a nod, as if approving Padmé.

For a moment, the dark haired girl thought about saying something in response, and then she saw how tired the other girl looked. She had circles under her eyes and looked pale, as if she had not gotten much sleep. Padmé couldn't help but wonder if this girl had rested at all since the invasion. Instead of saying that aloud though, she handed the parchment to her, letting her read it.

Zaré took it with a questioning look, but opened the parchment and started to read was what was there. Padmé didn't know what it said, but from Zaré's expression, it was quite serious. She seemed to read it twice before she tucked it into the sash of her gown.

Putting her finger to her lips, Zaré then motioned in a direction with her eyes and Padmé figured that it meant she should follow Zaré and that was the direction they were going. She did not know what the other girl was planning and she wondered about the second handmaiden she was supposed to meet. Where was she?

The pair was mostly silent as they crept along and Padmé was almost amazed at how easily this seemed to come to Zaré. She didn't even have to look to be sure she did not step on a small twig, and she seemed to almost glide over the grass. Padmé wondered if this was something that the handmaiden had learned, or it if was a natural gift.

They stopped outside a small tent a few minutes later, which looked like all the others. It was almost impossible to tell them apart. Padmé found herself hoping that they were far from her family though. She knew they would look around the area and if they found her, well, the confrontation would most likely bring a guard or two. Her parents loved her, but her mother would be nearly frantic with worry.

Zaré grabbed Padmé by the arm and pulled her into the tent before fastening the tent door closure again. It would not keep out someone out if they wanted to come in, but at least if someone was just glancing around, they would not see into the tent.

It took a few minutes to adjust to the dimmer lighting and Padmé blinked twice before she could take in the interior. She had not expected much, just a few sleep pallets perhaps. They were there of course, but there were more. There were a few things spread out on the pallets; blasters, comm. units, and a few other things.

The other girl in the room was clearly a handmaiden. She had blonde hair and blue eyes as well and wore the same clothing as Zaré. She looked a bit surprised to see Padmé, but she didn't frown or say anything negative. She did smile slightly at the dark haired girl and Padmé returned it.

"I was beginning to worry," Calré admitted after a moment. Her voice was melodic, almost as if she was singing. It was sweet and soothing. It certainly contrasted with her braided hair and the blaster on her belt.

"You expected this?" Zaré asked, glancing at Padmé, clearly doubting the young, dark haired girl's abilities.

"What did you expect? A solider would never have gotten this far and no one would expect someone as young as the Queen," Calré pointed out, taking the parchment that Zaré handed her. She read it before tucking it away and looked at Padmé. "What's your name?"

"Padmé."

"Padmé," Calré repeated. "Do you know how to shoot a blaster?"

"I have had a few practice sessions," Padmé responded. "Am I going to have to shoot?"

"Most likely just droids," Calré answered. "We have to go inside the Palace, but first, we need to alert the others of the resistance."

She pulled out a comm. and she started to speak into it. Her voice was so quiet, Padmé couldn't even hear what she was saying. It was less than a minute before she put the comm. away and turned to Zaré and Padmé. "Time to get started."

Zaré nodded and shrugged off the brightly covered robe to reveal a dark maroon outfit, looking ready for battle. Calré did the same then took the blasters, hiding some on their belts before pulling on the robes again. Then, she took one of the blasters and handed it to Padmé as well as one of the cloaks. Zaré helped her pull it on, finding it a few inches too long. But, it did make her look like the others.

"Ready?"

Zaré and Padmé nodded, though the latter was looking uncertain. She tucked the blaster away before turning her attention back to the other two. Calré led the way, hiding in shadows, motioning the others to follow. They darted from shadow to shadow until they reach the main entrance. Instead of hiding, the two handmaidens kept walking. Straight to the droids who were guarding it.

"Halt," one of the droids ordered and Padmé felt her heart start to race. Were they going to get shot?

"We've gone through this. We have Palace duties," Zaré's voice was soft, quiet, completely unlike how she sounded before. They waited as the droids checked and then waved them through.

Once they were past the guards and out of sight, they started to run. "Where are we going?" Padmé asked, lifting the robe with one hand so she wouldn't trip on it.

All of a sudden, Calré stopped and the other two almost ran into her. She put a finger to her lips and they watched a group of at least a dozen droids march by. Once they were out of sight and could no longer be heard Calré pulled off cloak and the other two did the same. "Secret entrance," she answered Padmé's question before leading the way again.

No one spoke until they reached another location and hid behind a pillar. "Do you have a comm.?" Calré asked and Padmé showed it to her. "Tell them we're ready." Padmé nodded and pressed it twice.

"Now what?" Padmé asked.

"We wait for the other signal," Zaré whispered, hand resting on her blaster, eyes scanning the area. Padmé was almost certain that, no matter what they said, there would be a battle. She crouched down on the balls of her feet and waited.


End file.
